Injuries That Can Occur in the Everyday Workplace

Employees may think that because they work in a “safe” environment such as an office or retail store, they are exempt from the possibility of injury. However, these accidents might be more common than people think.

Fortunately, most employees will be eligible for workers comp lawyers Portland Oregon after being hurt at work. Here are several examples of injuries that often occur while performing regular duties in non-hazardous environments:

Falls, Slips or Trips

Falls from heights could occur anywhere: For example, a simple fall down a few stairs could be enough to cause a sprain or fracture. Slips and trips are often common in restaurants where floors are likely to be wet, or retail stores where merchandise or other items could lie unnoticed on the floor.

Object Collision or Strike

Blind corners in offices or big box stores could be prime culprits for collisions involving carts, hand trucks and personnel, and the larger the object, the more potential for serious injury. Cartons or boxes stored on high shelves are sometimes tricky to move safely and might fall on top of an employee.

Vehicle Collisions

Naturally, workers who spend the majority of their day in service vans, delivery trucks or in cars between sales calls could be at a higher risk injury in a car accident. Employees involved in a collision while running errands for their company on the clock may also be “injured on the job.”

Repetitive Stress Injuries

Bursitis and carpal tunnel syndrome are conditions often suffered by workers who spend the majority of their day doing repetitive tasks, such as:

• Ringing merchandise at a cash register
• Price tagging or bulk inventory counting
• Typing or other computer input

Although these disorders don’t usually appear for many years and sometimes after the employee has left that particular job, they are often caused by work-related duties.

There can be many different ways to be injured in the workplace. Awareness of the potential, even in low-risk occupations, can help keep employees safe.